Archives for December 27, 2006

‘”I know I was pretty excited in the first period with the way we came out swinging at them,” Briere said. “To be honest with you, it’s a lot more fun coming out like that and showing them how we play than going out there and trying to get in a fight with him or trying to make him pay the pric

e. That was the best thing for me that could happen in the first period.”‘

‘You want retaliation? After giving up the fourth Buffalo goal, Caps goalie Brent Johnson smashed his stick to pieces on the crossbar and heaved the shaft down the ice before getting pulled. Surely that was more satisfying for Sabres fans – and more humane – than seeing someone smash a stick over Ovechkin’s noggin.’

‘The Washington Capitals wunderkind was greeted with full-throated boos throughout Tuesday’s dismantling of the Caps in HSBC Arena. It started from the moment he stepped on the ice 45 seconds after the opening faceoff and continued until the final buzzer.’

‘Ovechkin did score Tuesday, cutting the Sabres’ lead to 6-2 late in the second period. But even he was impressed by how Buffalo opened with six goals on nine shots. “They shoot, they score. They shoot, they score. It was like some magic,” Ovechkin said.’

‘”The effort that we put into this game is a sign of how much respect we have for our captain, Danny Briere,” said enforcer Andrew Peters, who finished the game a goal shy of a Western League hat trick. “We know what happened in Washington and we proved tonight that shouldn’t have happened.”‘